Starting in January, people caught in Euclid with small amounts of marijuana will no longer be looking at six months in jail鈥攁nd they have the podcast Serial to thank.
The city is reclassifying low-level marijuana possession as a , which carries a maximum fine of $150.
Council鈥檚 safety committee chair said members voted to reduce the city鈥檚 penalties after Serial pointed out that Euclid鈥檚 marijuana laws were stiffer than most in Cuyahoga County.
鈥淎 lot of times people don鈥檛 realize鈥攖hey think that with a lot of municipalities being a little more lenient, that it also applies to Euclid. And it did not,鈥� Councilwoman Stephana Caviness said. 鈥淎nd maybe that causes incidents to occur that we could sometimes avoid.鈥�
That was the case with Erimius Spencer, a Euclid man .
Spencer sued the city in late 2017, alleging that two off-duty officers kicked and tased him in a hallway of his apartment building. The police said they had found a small amount of marijuana in his pocket.
Spencer told the podcast he believed that marijuana possession should have only resulted in a citation. In fact, it was a more serious misdemeanor in Euclid.
Caviness said members drafted the revised ordinance after talking about the podcast.
鈥淲e said, we need at least to align ourselves with Ohio Revised Code and align ourselves with the other municipalities in Cuyahoga County. And that鈥檚 how it all began,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it began with the Serial podcast.鈥�
Euclid鈥檚 marijuana ordinance dates back to 1998, when the city made possession a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable with a $1,000 fine and 180-day jail sentence.
鈥淭hat was 20 years ago,鈥� Caviness said. 鈥淭hings have changed tremendously, and they鈥檙e continuing to change.鈥�
On Dec. 3, council voted 8-0 in favor of the revised ordinance, which will go into effect Jan. 2.
The change will put Euclid鈥檚 code . As with state law, there are steeper penalties for larger amounts. Possessing 100 grams or more of marijuana is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and possession of 200 or more grams is a fifth-degree felony.
Read the ordinance below.
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